


Fives Times Aaron Hotchner Kissed David Rossi (and the Earth stopped spinning)

by masterwords



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Christmas Kisses, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Wine, some light whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 09:28:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masterwords/pseuds/masterwords
Summary: As a response to an ask on Tumblr, I humbly submit to you:  David Rossi's five favorite times that Aaron Hotchner kissed him.  Cute, fluffy, angsty, whumpy...it's a little bit of everything.  This is Part One, Part Two will be Aaron's version.  Stay tuned!
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/David Rossi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 70





	Fives Times Aaron Hotchner Kissed David Rossi (and the Earth stopped spinning)

5\. 

Book signings were usually a chore, tucked in at a cheap folding table and surrounded by towers of books written by other people. When he'd gone back to the BAU, he'd ceased to do the signings – he hadn't the time or the desire any longer, but the fans never stopped asking, the publisher requests hadn't stopped coming in. One day a request came through that was promising and without giving it much thought he'd agreed – a winery sounded like a fine place to sign some books, better than a stale bookstore anyway. After negotiating his way into payment by way of cases of wine, he'd asked Aaron to come with him. They would live through the signing and then stay for the outdoor concert on the winery's lawn, drinking wine into the evening. None of this appealed to Aaron, but he had no viable excuses so he agreed.

The winery itself was beautiful, sprawling grassy lawns for outdoor entertaining and weddings, a building that looked like a modern castle and smiling faces everywhere. Who didn't smile when wine was involved? Aaron had been nervous, he'd had his doubts about whether or not anyone would show up to have Dave sign their books – he'd been out of the business now for for years. He never said a word about it to Dave, though, and all the better in the end because the line was unbelievable – and mostly beautiful women, older women in low-cut tops hoping to make an impression on this dashing, unwed FBI Agent. Dave regarded the line with a wry smile and looked over at Aaron, shrugging in that infuriatingly confident way he had. Before he stepped up to the table, glass of wine in hand, Aaron grabbed him by the arm and pulled him in for a kiss behind the flimsy curtain that hid boxes of books for people to purchase. Dave's breath caught in his chest and his entire body felt like it was electric. He pressed into the kiss for as long as Aaron would have him there. It was the first time Aaron had kissed him in public without him making the first move and it felt like the Earth had stopped spinning on its axis. He would later find out that Aaron didn't realize people could see them, but he learned it soon enough as he got some nasty sideways glances from those women in their low-cut tops hoping to land the handsome and not-so-single-as-they'd-hoped Dave Rossi. 

4\. 

Aaron's doorstep was warm and inviting, this house was comfort. He knocked. He had a key, could have let himself in, but he was barely standing as it was. It was early morning, too early and no one answered. He took a seat on the step, resting his head in his hands. He hadn't slept yet, he'd waited until Carolyn's body had been safely removed from her hotel room, waited to talk to the police, waited to accept the reality of what she'd done. He couldn't hate her for it, he loved her so much it hurt. As he walked from the hotel to Aaron's in the wee hours of the night, like a phantom at home among the dead of the streets, he could only think of their son and his long, lonely years before his family began joining him in the beyond. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there on Aaron's porch, hoping for reprieve in the only safe haven he knew before the door swung wide open and there was his saving grace dressed to go for a run as the sun crested the tree tops. Aaron stopped in his tracks, pulled out one of his ear buds and approached Dave cautiously. When he crouched nearby, Dave tried to smile but his shoulders slumped and the smile never came.

“Carolyn,” Dave whispered, and Aaron nodded. He'd known. Aaron removed the other earbud and let the cord dangle around his neck, draping his bare arms around Dave's shoulders and hugging tight around his neck. He pressed a soft kiss to Dave's cheek, nuzzling into his partner's neck.

“I'm so sorry,” Aaron whispered against the other man's skin, and Dave nodded. “Come inside.” This was his sanctuary.

3\. 

What a cruel joke it was to be in love with someone on this team of intense workaholics who rarely took days off, or were even offered them. On the jet, coming back home from a case across the country, everyone was thinking about the same thing: Hotch. Dave had gone with him in the ambulance, had met Garcia at the hospital, and had left Aaron there in her capable hands. She was a saint, but it took every bit of strength he had to tear himself away. The fact that Aaron was there barely clinging to life and he still left town to help the team spoke volumes he didn't want to hear. The moment that jet landed, he was in his car and speeding through the deserted streets only half obeying the laws of the road. The closer he got to the hospital, the more he chastised himself for ever leaving – how could Aaron forgive him? But then, when he arrived, there was Aaron sitting up in his bed with Garcia beside him, and he looked lighter somehow.

“Oh, sir, you're back!” Garcia called, waving Dave in. He entered slowly, like he needed Aaron's permission too, and he got it in the way of a soft smile. Aaron was pale, he had the look of a man who had been knocking on death's door, but the lightness of having been turned away this time. He approached the bed, his eyes locked on Aaron's, and felt Aaron's hand reach for his. 

“I shouldn't have gone,” Dave muttered, shaking his head. Aaron furrowed his brow. 

“Don't be ridiculous, that girl needed you,” he replied, his voice whisper soft. He pulled Dave's hand close and kissed his knuckles gently, he didn't have the energy to do more but it was enough. “Garcia kept me company. I dreamed about you,” Aaron said quietly, his eyes locking with Dave's. Garcia grabbed her things and slowly inched toward the door, hoping neither of them would notice she'd vanished. Before she had made her full escape, she heard her boss' voice call out to her. 

“Garcia? Thank you.” She felt a tear burn its way down her cheek and she smiled before dashing down the hall. Dave settled into the seat she'd vacated, ready to stay forever if he had to. Nothing could make him leave again.

2\. 

The explosion was on every screen at the precinct, on every news station, and everyone was talking about it. Dave couldn't watch it, he'd seen enough. The news was covering the explosion, but not the aftermath because there wasn't any yet – Aaron was just there, in the street, hurt and in need of help that wouldn't come. Dave was fuming, struggling to keep his mind focused because more lives than just Aaron's depended on his clarity. The team was still reeling when they got Morgan's call that Hotch wanted them at the hospital, dousing the flames in Dave's nerves – Aaron was alright. He clung to it as they rushed, clung to it until he saw his partner storming out of his hotel room mad as the Devil himself. Dave smiled and stood back, watching Aaron get into his kevlar vest without betraying the pain he was in. Emily asked if he was okay and he skirted the topic in the way he always did, diverting any personal attention to the case. Emily slipped back as the others talked and leaned in close to Rossi's ear, her voice no more than a whisper but laced with accusation and dripping with implications. He was glad to have her around, she could always be counted on to have something to say that would make a situation seem a little less awful.

“You two are wearing the same shirt,” she said, and Dave nodded. He'd noticed. It was his shirt, must have slipped into Aaron's go bag by mistake or maybe Aaron had stolen it, finally tired of wearing those scouring pads parading as shirts that he always wore. Whichever it was, he certainly didn't mind. 

As soon as they all knew Morgan was safe and the threat was neutralized, Aaron had rushed back up to the operating room to check on Kate. Dave already knew what he was going to find, so he hung back while the team went back to the precinct to finish things up. When Aaron walked out of that room, he was shattered and Dave reached out for him, pulling him in close. They were alone now, the halls deserted. Aaron looked at him like a wounded animal, frightened and confused, his ears ringing and his head pounding – every inch of him hurt and all of the adrenaline was wearing off faster than he could process it. He leaned forward and kissed Dave, harder than he'd intended – it was violent and raw, desperately clinging to the life in his arms that was sustaining his. Dave held him gently, fingers gripping the kevlar vest. When Aaron was spent, he buried his face in Dave's neck and rested there, squeezing his eyes shut tight against the blinding hospital lights. 

“You got blood on my shirt,” Dave whispered, injecting the moment with some much needed levity. Aaron nodded and all at once, hearing Dave's voice break through his desperation, his body relaxed. 

“Both of them.”

1\. 

Christmas Eve, the first of many without Haley. Aaron had been desperately trying to be daddy and Santa Claus, to check all of the boxes he'd taken for granted that Haley just did. Buy the gifts, decorate the house, plan activities, read the stories, watch the movies, bake the cookies, fill the season with all the joy that Jack's little body could sustain. On the most important night of all, Aaron realized he'd made a grave error – he had no cookies and milk for Santa. Nothing to set out, and bed time was fast approaching. He did the only thing he could think to do, he sent an SOS out to Dave, and like a knight in shining leather, he arrived with a tin of gingerbread cookies and a carton of milk.

“How much do I owe you?” Aaron whispered, taking the bag from Dave with a grin. Dave shook his head and smiled. 

“How about a glass of scotch before I hit the road?” he asked, and Aaron was unable to turn him away. Jack was getting himself ready for bed and making his final preparations for Santa's arrival, so Aaron had a few minutes to spare. Dave produced the bottle and handed it to Aaron as they made their way into the kitchen for glasses. The house was warm, lit only by the glow of a thousand twinkling lights and smelled like pine. Dave sipped at his scotch, taking it all in before he had to head back to his lonely home, no hope of Santa delivering him anything on Christmas eve. 

“Would you like to stay?” Aaron asked, blindsiding Dave. Aaron would stay with Dave whenever Jack was away, but he'd never asked Dave to stay with he and Jack, it was the final frontier. Dave wasn't a patient man by nature, but he had all the patience in the world when it came to Aaron. 

“On Christmas Eve?” Dave asked, finishing his scotch and setting the glass down with a soft clink. Aaron nodded. 

“You saved Christmas,” Aaron whispered, leaning in to kiss his partner. A delicate, almost hesitant kiss at first, becoming natural and easy after a moment. 

“Daddy?” Jack asked, padding into the kitchen. Dave froze, worried that Aaron would be upset that Jack had seen, but Aaron, like always, was full of surprises. He smiled at Jack and beckoned him over, lifting him into his arms. 

“What would you think of Papa Dave staying here tonight?” Aaron asked, nose to nose with Jack. The kid looked mortified and Dave's heart felt like it was falling into his stomach. “What is it? What's wrong?”

Here it was, Dave thought. He braced himself. 

“Will you tell Santa that he's here so he can still get presents too?” Innocence. Dave felt like his knees were going to buckle, he'd been so prepared for the worst. 

“Absolutely, buddy, let's put it in your note.”

When Jack ran off, Aaron pulled Dave in close for another kiss, this time longer and without any trace of hesitation, and Dave fell headfirst into it. Santa had already given him all he needed.


End file.
